1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a multifunctional cooking system including a deep well cooker having a plurality of heating elements capable of being selectively energized to correspond to different cooking modes.
Electric cooking pots for preparing and serving hot foods are well known in the art. Such cooking pots typically include a deep well member and a heating element arranged in functional relation thereto for supplying heat. Such deep well members are often constructed of stainless steel or enameled steel for reasons of sanitation and durability. It is known that both stainless steel and enameled steel have a relatively low coefficient of heat conductivity as compared with other metals.
Applying heat only to the bottom of a deep well member, especially when constructed of stainless steel or enameled steel, can result in the upper portion of the deep well member being insufficiently heated. Thus, the food in the upper portion of the well member may become too cool for serving purposes due to the loss of heat in combination with the low rate of heat conductivity of the stainless steel or enameled steel material and the slow rate at which heat is supplied to the upper portion of the deep well member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various solutions have been proposed in the prior art to solve this problem. One example of a prior art deep well cooker is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,377 to Henke comprising a heat sink preferably formed of aluminum or another corrosion resistant metal having a relatively high coefficient of heat conductivity, which is positioned over the deep well member from below. The heat sink member is generally U-shaped and has a bottom part parallel to and spaced from the bottom of the well member and side parts parallel to and engaging the sides of the well member in heat exchanging relation. An electric heating element is disposed in the space between the bottom of the well member and the bottom part of the U-shaped heat sink member. When the electric heater is energized, heat is supplied to the bottom of the well member by direct radiation and by radiation from the bottom part of the U-shaped member and by convection due to the air in the space occupied by the heating element. Simultaneously, however, heat also flows from the bottom part of the U-shaped member, up the side parts of the U-shaped member and into the sides of the well member. The heat supplied by conduction to the sides of the well member provides for more uniform heating of the well member while also providing for more efficient utilization of the energy supplied to the heating element.
Another example of a prior art cooking device having multiple heating elements is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,295 to Jepson et. al. comprising a pan with a lower electric heating element supported on its underside and a deep cover with an upper heating element supported within. A thermostatic control is connected to the lower heating element for energization thereof. When the cover is closed, an electrical connection for energizing the upper heating element is completed. The control serves thermostatically to control the energization of either element in a repeating, alternating sequence and is capable of performing the functions of a frying pan, broiler, and oven. However, this invention is not directly applicable to deep well cookers nor does it disclose a wrap-around heating element for controlling heat distribution to the upper surfaces of a deep well member within such a cooker.
Thus, the present invention has been developed to provide an alternative solution to the problem of regulating the distribution of heat to all surfaces within a deep well cooker and also to provide other functional advantages over the prior art.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a multifunctional deep well cooker that includes a bottom heating element and a wrap-around heating element, which is disposed about the deep well member for heating the sides thereof. The bottom heating element and the wrap-around heating element are interconnected by a temperature control switch for heat regulation and a function control switch for selectively energizing the desired heating elements individually or in combination to provide various different cooking modes. Thus, the present multifunctional cooker is capable of providing the user with a wide variety of cooking modes such as steaming, stir-frying, roasting, baking, or deep-frying within a single deep well cooker by selectively energizing the respective heating elements and using optional cooking accessories such as lift racks and/or frying baskets, which are applicable to a particular cooking technique.
Other features and technical advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings.